Even those who live miles away from the coast or a river can't presume to be home and dry with regards flood risks. As last summer made scarily obvious, floods can affect a wide variety of areas with devastating effect.

To save your home and possessions from a watery grave, know the risks, take practical protective steps and cover against flood damage with contents, home and building insurance.

As well as the obvious risks of living near the coast or by a riverbed, houses located at the bottom of hills are vulnerable to rainwater surface run-off. Those below sea level can also find themselves in the line of fire, as rising groundwaters and blocked sewers can back up and cause flooding.

As well as consulting local weather forecasts, if you live near a river, keep a close eye on the waters for tell-tale signs of trouble ahead. Water rising quickly, turning brown or black or becoming very turbulent should all be taken as warning signals that a flood may be on its way.

It only takes a depth of 15 centimetres of fast flowing water to knock over an adult and 60 centimetres to lift and move a vehicle, so imagine the damage it can cause to your possessions and house.

Protecting your home with boards and sandbags only goes so far to keeping the flood waters at bay. But even this will often go little way to stopping a potentially devastating flurry of water entering your home. Last year floods racked up an insurance bill of £3billion, but by taking a number of simple steps you can reduce the costly risks to your property.

Fitting non-return valves to drains and water inlet pipes will reduce the amount of water entering your home. But if the floodgates do open, installing wood or stone flooring and laying down rugs instead of carpets could save you the expensive task of replacing sodden floor coverings..

Moving electric sockets to higher points and positioning main parts of heating or vent systems upstairs could also save you the money and time of replacing them and, more importantly, reduce any risk to life. And permanently relocating personal and sentimental items upstairs and covering them against damage with contents insurance could save you unnecessary heartache.

Insuring your property and possessions against water damage is essential to reducing the time, effort and cost that goes into flood recovery. If your property lies on a floodplain, insurance cover, be it contents, home or building, will be assessed on probability of any future flooding and the presence of flood defences.

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